This invention relates to a holder for supporting a computer central processing unit (CPU) underneath a desk or work station and out of contact with the floor.
Holders are known which suspend the CPU unit from the underside of a desk thereby freeing up valuable working space on the desktop which can be put to other uses. Furthermore, because the CPU is out of contact with the floor but beneath the desk, the risk of it being kicked or otherwise disturbed by the user is avoided.
A known CPU holder comprises a main L-shaped supporting bracket, the top end of which is attached to the underside of a desk. A support member with an upstanding edge is slidably attached to the L-shaped foot of the main supporting member and is slidable laterally relative thereto. A second arm with a downwardly depending edge is mounted on the main support member so as to be slidable vertically relative thereto. In use, a CPU is placed in a vertical orientation on the L-shaped foot of the main support member and the laterally movable first arm is moved inwardly toward the CPU until its upstanding edge contacts and grips its side face. The second arm is then moved vertically downwardly until it engages the top of the CPU and the downwardly depending side edge thereof is moved inwardly to grip the side face of the CPU. This prior art CPU holder has numerous parts and is therefore expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, it does not grip the CPU around the whole of its periphery so there is a risk that it can fall out of the holder if the adjustable arms are not properly tightened and/or the user kicks or otherwise disturbs it while working at the desk to which it is attached.
It is an object of the present invention therefore to provide an under-desk CPU holder which is attractive in appearance, cheap and easy to manufacture, has a minimum number of parts and is easy to use.
According to the invention there is provided an under-desk CPU holder comprising a perimeter support frame adapted to grip and hold a CPU when inserted therein around the whole of its external periphery and mounting means for attaching said frame to the underside of a desk or worksurface, the frame having a plurality of sides which are constructed and arranged to be variable in length so that the sides of the frame can be adjusted to fit closely around the CPU, and locking means to fix and retain the selected length of each frame side whereby the frame grips the CPU around its perimeter and retains it therein.
Preferably the frame has four sides each of which has an inside surface which contacts and grips a face of the CPU when inserted therein, each frame side comprising a first part which is slidable relative to a second part.
In a preferred embodiment, the support frame comprises four L-shaped frame members, each of said members being slidable relative to a contiguous frame member to adjust the length of a side of the frame. Conveniently two of the L-shaped frame members slidable fit into the other two L-shaped frame members.
Preferably each L-shaped frame member comprises two identical extruded sections of the same cross-sectional configuration which are connected together at a corner junction. Suitably, the frame members forming a first pair of opposite corners of the frame have an identical cross sectional configuration, the frame members forming the other two opposite corners of the frame having a cross-sectional configuration which is identical to each other but different to the frame members forming said first pair of corners.
In the preferred embodiment, the first frame side part has an internal and external surface, the external surface having a pair of parallel L-shaped slots extending the whole length thereof, each second frame part fitting over and sliding along the external surface of the first frame side part and having an undersurface with a pair of parallel L-shaped ribs extending therefrom, each of said ribs being received and retained in said L-shaped slots and being slidable therealong.
The preferred embodiment also includes a third inverted T-shaped slot formed in the external surface of each first frame side part which extends along the whole length thereof parallel to and between said first pair of L-shaped slots, each second frame side part having a T-shaped rib extending from the undersurface thereof which is received and retained in the said third slot and slidable therealong.
Conveniently the locking means comprises a grub screw which extends into and engages with the side walls of the third slot to lock the first frame part in position relative to the second frame part.
Preferably, a pair of parallel mounting slots are formed in the external surface of the first member, each slot providing access to the interior of its associated hollow L-shaped rib.
The mounting means can take any convenient form but preferably is a bracket which can be secured to the undersurface of the desk or worksurface using screws or other suitable fixings, said plate having a pair of parallel L-shaped flanges extending therefrom at 90xc2x0 to the plane of the plate, each of said flanges being slidably received in one of said mounting slots to releasably attach said plate to the perimeter support frame.
Preferably the first and second frame parts are extruded metal sections of constant cross section along the whole of their length, the first support frame parts being of a first cross sectional configuration and the second support frame parts being of a different cross sectional configuration. The extruded sections can however be made of a plastics material.